Bella Venice #1

The kids were out of school for a week for midterm break- so we went traveling!

We left early in the morning on Friday the 23rd (Happy Birthday Kailey!- more on this later...)and flew to Treviso, Italy (about 45 minutes away from Venice). A man with a big van took us into Venice and dropped us off at the main bus station. We took a vaporetto (water bus) to one station where we should have been able to catch the next bus to the island our hotel was on. BUT- they were having strikes and we had to walk for a bit. Danny reassured us that it would only be a 10 minute walk. Now, keep in mind that we had all of our luggage with us (8 people, 8 suitcases plus 6 backpacks)and Madi was not to be trusted walking alone. If only we would have taken a picture of us! As it was, we walked through a crowd similar to this one:



There was some murmuring from the shorter ones, but it is a fun memory for me. And we did arrive at the next bus stop about 20 minutes later. (Danny's optimism already at work.)

After getting on the correct waterbus- we headed for the island of Lido- which is a 10- 15 minute boat ride outside of Venice. The island isn't very big- so Danny and I decided that we could walk the 10 minutes to get to our hotel. Another slight miscalculation- 25- 30 minutes later we arrived at our hotel. The kids were tired and hungry- so after we checked in at our hotel- we went to eat at a nice little restaurant.



Our first day was the only day in our entire vacation when it really rained. We were so lucky!

On day 2- we went into Venice and went on a walking tour of the city. Kailey and Danny planned our entire itinerary and did a fabulous job.



Shelby thought the carnivale masks were great.



Emery with gondolas and St. George's church in the distance.



We saw St. Marks church (where he is supposedly buried) and it has loads of amazing mosaics. It is a beautiful church. (Jake just reminded me that the tour guide said there were more than a million mosaics in the church.)



How our family entertained themselves during the tour...



A typical canal behind us. Isn't it beautiful?



Our teenager with gondolas in the canal behind her.



Claire on the Rialto Bridge- one of three bridges that cross the Grand Canal.



We decided we needed something different from Italian- so were thrilled when we found this nice little chinese restaurant. (Who else would eat chinese food in Italy?)



Here we are with the Rialto bridge behind us.



Gelato at St. Mark's Square (Piazza de San Marco)



Claire and Shelby with their Carnivale masks.



Madison and Claire on the boat tour.

After the walking tour and lunch- we went on a motorboat tour of Venice. Talia, our guide is from Connecticut and has lived in Venice for 8 years. She was excellent and gave us fun information. My favorite story was the rich family who would tell their party guests that they didn't need to wash and reuse their gold plates- they would just throw them over the balcony. Little did their guests know that they had a net to catch all of the plates and their servants would fish them out of the canal, wash and reuse them.



A view of the Rialto Bridge from the canal.



Danny, Emery, Madi and I and Jake.



All of the houses in Venice are called palaces. I thought that these were beautiful.



Jake with St. George's Basilica behind us.



Danny and the kids outside of Piazza San Marco. The Doge's Palace is in the background on the left. I love how Madi posed for this photo!

Fill 'er UP!

Through our church, we have met a great lady named Anele who is from Zimbabwe. Anele is an incredible woman who has had her share of challenges in life. Anele came to Ireland a few years ago to make a better life for her family. Her first year or two here were very difficult as she was almost a slave to the family she worked for. However, she was able to leave this horrible situation and joined our church, she met a great guy (they are getting married in the spring) and has found a lot of happiness.

We have had Anele over for dinner several times and she is always happy. It is rare to not see a smile on her face. Anele has two children, a brother (plus his family) and her parents who still live in Zimbabwe. (If you have heard anything about Zimbabwe- then you can imagine what their lives are like.) Anele sends her family a drum full of food every few months. We asked if we could do it once and she said we could!

It was an adventure to get the stuff to fill it. We went to an area of Dublin that I haven't been to before and found the African/Caribbean Store. (An experience in and of itself...) Then we bought food that Anele said her family liked. We also bought a bunch of stuff at Lidl. (A fun food experience.)


Emery inside the empty drum.


Madison inside the empty drum.


Loading the drum.


We packed it as tight as we could.


And we needed Danny's massive muscles to get that baby closed.

What a great experience.

Jake's Hospital Adventure

Danny left for Singapore last Sunday and with two sick kids (Jake and Claire), I knew it was going to be an exciting week. I just didn't realize how exciting it was going to be. J and C were better by Monday afternoon so they both went to school on Tuesday. However, Shelby didn't feel well so she stayed home.

After school on Tuesday, Jake didn't look great and by bedtime I was a bit concerned. He had vomited and his abdomen hurt. I did a few checks and was worried that he might have appendicitis. Since it was late, I just prayed that he would be okay until morning.

To make a long story shorter- after visiting our family doctor on Wednesday and her confirming my fears- Jake and I headed to The Children's University Hospital on Temple Street in Dublin. We arrived at 12:30 and were admitted and up to Jake's room by 7:00p.m.


Jake in "CASUALTY" - we would call it the E.R.


Jake was really good while his IV or his "Freddie" (as the nurses called it) was put in. Or maybe his mom was just really good at getting his attention away from what was happening.


A view of Jake's room from the entrance to his room.

Because Jake was coughing and had vomited- they were afraid that he was contagious, so he had an entire ward all to himself. (I was coughing more than Jake and I am thankful that I don't have to worry that I infected anyone else! Hooray for isolation!)


Jake watching a movie on my laptop.

The surgeons weren't convinced that it was Jake's appendix. There were just a few things that didn't match up. He had pain in his right lower abdomen- but only with movement and it wasn't excruciating. He only vomited once. When they asked him to jump up and down- it didn't bother him too much. So, they wanted to watch him overnight just to make sure.


By morning they had mostly decided that it was Mesenteric Adenitis. It often follows after a person has a sore throat (and he did over the weekend). They let us go home before dinner. We were both very happy to say goodbye to the hospital.

Personally, I think all of the prayers in Jake's behalf- especially from his sisters- and many others are what made a huge difference. We are surrounded by such good people here. I had several friends who jumped in and helped us out in so many ways. My children at home were well cared for. We had lovely dinners brought over to our family. Women took my healthy children to and from school. Another friend not only offered to stay the night, but took the day off of work to stay with my little girls on Thursday all day. Others brought Jake magazines and I had so many texts from people who were concerned about Jake and wondering what they could do to help. I am so thankful for these amazing women who went above and beyond the call of duty to help our family out. I have never been in such a situation without family members close by to help me. I am very indebted to these very Christlike women for their love, their concern and all they did for us. I know it wasn't a big deal to them- but it was huge to me. Thank you!

Now, Danny is home and Jake is doing great. We just need to get Shelby, Madison and I healthy. There's always something...

Flamenco Sisters

A few weeks ago, Emery and Madison were playing dress up and both had on their Flamenco dresses. They were very cute.

Emery is a very good big sister. She demonstrated to her little sister how to properly twirl.

Madi watched and learned the technique!

I am thankful for moments like these and for these little people! We are extremely blessed...

Oui Oui Paris! (pronunciation= We We Paree!)

We went to Paris for the weekend. Oh the perks of living in Europe!


Shelby, Claire, Madison and Emery feeding the ducks behind our hotel villa.


The kids on the teacup ride at Disneyland Paris.


Five girls in a car. (In a few years this will be very frightening!)


At the Louvre Museum.


Shelby and the Mona Lisa. Who's smile do you prefer?


We enjoyed spending a little time with our good friends the Halls. John and Renee and their 5 kiddos are always fun to be with!


We saw the Eiffel Tower all lit up! Obviously, our camera did NOT do it justice.


CREPES!!! (Danny and I both gained two pounds in one weekend. Blast that delicious french food!)


By the River Seine.


In front of the Hotel D'Ville. There are some really beautiful buildings...


The kids chasing pigeons in front of Notre Dame. (It looks like a huge one is chasing Claire!)


Danny and the kids with the Chateau of Versailles behind them.


Us with the gardens of Versailles. Beautiful.


We rented bikes and rode around Versailles. It was so much fun!

We loved our French adventure. The weather was nice and no one was even rude to us! We still never made it to the Sacre Couer and Montmartre- oh well. Maybe someday. We had some typical Carrell moments. Didn't pack enough diapers one day and Madi had to go diaperless for about an hour (things got a bit drippy...). We got to the airport a bit later than optimal, took the wrong elevator that only went as far as the restroom floor. (Why would they even have this???) The girls were very good in unpacking- but not so good in repacking. They put the DVD cases (with most of our favorite movies) in a nightstand drawer without their mother's knowledge. So, when I double checked the room- I neglected to look in the nightstand. Oopsey. Oh, and Shelby's homework and books were in the same nightstand. (I hate telling teachers bad news. I hate feeling like an inept mother. However, this mistake will NOT happen again. Sometimes the learning process is painful.)

Au revoir Paris! Thanks for the memories!

Highlights of Hawaii

Ah Hawaii... Even though it has been over a month ago... I never want to finish this blog because it means the vacation really is over. Thankfully we still have the fun memories.

Danny and the kids at the beach.


Jake playing tennis. (It's blurry- but such great form.)


Kailey looks great in her tennis outfits!


Kailey, a sleeping Madi, Diane, Cheri and Dawn- Don't forget a good book.


Jill challenged Danny to a 5K race. Here is our running man. He looks great.


Dawn and the girls followed the runners in the golf cart.


Jill and Ben as they won the race. Danny finished well- just not quite as fast. (Will there be a re-match next year?)


Cute Claire with one of her funny faces.


Claire in snorkel mode (Dawn is enjoying a good book in the background.)


Emery is getting herself an ice cream bar. (Ice cream is a definite highlight!!!)


Madison is enjoying her ice cream.


Isn't this beautiful? The surroundings are gorgeous and I get to be with some of my favorite people...


We got to watch the tagging of sea turtles. It was really interesting.


Like I said, ice cream is a definite highlight!


Emery was practicing her floating starfish. (I love how her forehead, nose and mouth are the only parts that are not submerged!)


Grandpa and Emery in their chairs- both reading...


The little girls on their sun chairs- Madison is listening intently to everything Emery is telling her.


Shelby is perfecting a new talent!


Grandma and Emery reading. Grandma looks a little tired- probably because of us.


Four cute girls by King's Pond (you can snorkle here- lots of fun fish to look at)


Emery, Kailey and Claire at the kiddie pool- enjoying some creative sand time.


Jake chatting with Madi while Kailey and Shelby are having their tennis class.


Claire, Kailey and Shelby enjoy time in the water with Dad and Grandpa.

Thanks Dawn and David for letting us stay at your home in paradise! Time with family...priceless!!!